Faster Than Your Bullet
by PuttingTheDivInDiva
Summary: Bella was expecting so much out of her freshman year in college: parties, new friends, cute boys,etc. What she never expected was to get wrapped up in the life of the notorious Edward Cullen, one of New York's deadliest gang leaders. Violence, mature adult content.
1. Moving Day

I couldn't get over how big everything seemed here. I knew moving to the Big Apple was going to be a change, especially coming from a town as minuscule and insignificant as Forks, but now that I'm here it's even more incredible than I had imagined. Driving through the city felt like entering paradise.

Nevertheless, I couldn't quite get over the lump in my throat. Starting college was like starting Kindergarten all over again. I just hoped this time no one would steal my erasers or put boogers on my seat.

The campus was exquisite. Everything looked so modern, so fresh. There was plenty of greenery, which surprised me, considering we were only a few miles outside the city. I followed the long driveway leading to the dorms.

I had insisted to my mom that I'd be fine moving in on my own, that I needed this time to settle in and taste some freedom. But gawking up at the huge building made me feel two feet tall and I suddenly found myself wishing my mom was by my side.

I quickly shrugged it off and parked my car in one of the spaces provided. I hadn't brought much with me. I was never much of a material person, especially when it came to clothes, so I knew I'd only have a few trips to make with my boxes.

I took the lightest one first that just had my duvet and pillows and walked through the glass doors to a reception hall. There was a middle-aged lady with ginger hair and freckles sitting behind the desk, tapping away at her computer.

I walked up and placed my box on the desk. The woman didn't look up or give any indication that I was there. I coughed inconspicuously but she still didn't budge.

"Um…hello. I'd like to move in, please. It's my first day and—", I was cut off when she held up a finger silencing me, continuing to type.

I kept my lips shut and took in my surroundings while I waited. The dorm hall wasn't anything extravagant. There were four of them on campus, two for girls and two for boys. I had spotted another one across the parking lot, though I wasn't sure which one it was.

"Name?" The lady barked, still not looking up from her screen.

"Bella Swan," I replied, nervously. Would everyone here be this cold?

"Room 410, fourth floor. Here's your key. Do not lose it, I don't give out replacements. No excessive noise after 11pm. Any maintenance issues contact this number, do not come down here complaining to me. Any questions?"

I shook my head swiftly and gathered up my belongings, eager to leave this woman as soon as possible. I headed over to the elevator and rode it up to the fourth floor.

My room was at the end of the corridor. There were already a lot of people moving in. I smiled politely at them as I squeezed past and opened my door.

The room was quaint. It was nothing special but it had everything a student needed. There were two single beds, two chests of drawers, two desks, and one connecting bathroom.

I placed the box down onto the bed that wasn't already dressed. I assumed my roommate had already been here since her stuff was placed in a neat pile on the other bed.

I walked around the room taking everything in. The window looked out onto the parking lot and had a decent view of the dorm across the way. I noticed a fair amount of guys unpacking cars and surrounding the entrance, so deduced that it was one of the boys' dormitories.

I went into the bathroom to get a good look. Decent shower. I turned it on and was happy to see that there was already hot water. I smiled slightly to myself, knowing that I would be very comfortable here.

As I turned around to go back into the room I nearly had a heart attack. A small girl with mousy brown hair and glasses was staring at me.

"Holy shit!" I exclaimed, jumping with a fright, "I'm so sorry, you scared me!"

"Sorry, didn't mean to," the girl mumbled, in a timid voice.

"I'm Bella. I just moved in," I told her, holding out my hand.

She looked down at it but didn't go to touch it. "I'm Candice. I'm your roommate," she replied, before turning back to her bed.

I awkwardly let my hand fall back to my side and followed her out into the bedroom.

"So, are you a freshman here too?" I asked, sitting on the edge of my bed.

She started fumbling with some of her boxes and just nodded her head in response.

"Cool. It's all so exciting, right? New adventure and all that…. ," I let my thought trail off. It was clear that this girl did not want to converse. She kept her eyes fixed firmly on her bed and fumbled with the sleeve of her cardigan.

"Well, I'd better get the rest of my things. Unpacking is such a chore," I chuckled, awkwardly.

"I like unpacking. I find it therapeutic," she said, in almost a whisper.

Not quite knowing how to respond, I simply turned on my heels and headed back towards my car. I noticed some girls hugging each other and exclaiming how excited they were for college as I waded through the corridor.

I sighed to myself. As naive as it is, I really thought my roommate would be someone I'd eventually call a best friend. Candice didn't appear to be all that social, and I could just tell that we weren't going to gel well together.

When I made it back to my car I was feeling more deflated than ever. The excitement and nervousness I had felt a mere hour ago had been replaced with disappointment. I shook it off and told myself to quit being such a downer. It was only my first day. It was unrealistic to think it would be perfect.

I grabbed the next of my boxes, not realising it was the one carrying all of my books. As I heaved it out of the trunk my arms gave out and I lost my grip. My textbooks clattered to the ground with a bang.

I could feel my cheeks reddening and hastily went to pick them up. I was surprised to see a hand reach out and lift them for me.

"Better keep a handle on these, they're pretty damn expensive," a smooth voice laughed. I looked up to see the most attractive guy I had ever seen standing before me.

"I…um…yeah…thanks," I stuttered. Why oh why did I have to be so awkward all the time?

The boy just smiled and handed me the books.

"You just moving into Darndale House?" he asked, gesturing towards the dorms.

"You're looking at the proud new inhabitant of 410," I joked, waving my key.

"Well I guess we're neighbours. I'm in the guys' hall just over there," he nodded towards the other building. "What's your name?"

"Bella," I answered, holding out my hand.

"Nice to meet you Bella," he smiled, shaking my hand. I shivered slightly at his touch, but pulled it together when I realised how sad that made me seem.

"I'd love to stay and chat some more, but I've got a million things to do. I guess I'll see you around though," he winked, and sauntered away towards the campus.

It was only once he was gone that I realised he had never mentioned his name. Not that it mattered. He could have no name for all I cared, his was beautiful enough.

I couldn't help smiling as I headed back up to my room with my boxes. Maybe things wouldn't be so bad here after all.


	2. Blueberry Muffin

Monday morning came all too soon. The blaring alarm rudely woke me from my dreams. Candice had already gotten up, showered, dressed and left while I had repeatedly hit the snooze button.

The only thing that got me up was reminding myself that I had to make a good impression on my first day of classes.

I quickly showered and made myself look presentable. I was majoring in ballet and as much as I hated it, appearance went a long way.

I stuffed my gear into a bag and made my way over to campus. The dance conservatory wasn't too far from the dorms and it was surrounded by cafés and other amenities.

The class went well, if a little daunting at first. There were only about 30 of us in total, but everyone just seemed so talented. I found myself saying over and over in my mind that I had gotten this far for a reason, but seeing some of the other girls' pirouettes made me feel like a potato in a tutu.

I was relieved to get a rest when lunch came around. I was used to working hard, hell I had been dancing all my life, but this was taking things to a new level.

I made my way into a nearby coffee shop, dismayed to see how busy it was. I guess all the departments around here get lunch at the same time.

I grabbed a cappuccino and looked around for a place to sit. I just about got a table to myself, albeit squashed into the corner. Just in time too, since all the seats had filled up within a few minutes.

I happily sipped my coffee and scrolled through my newsfeed when I noticed someone standing in front of me. I looked up to see a guy with neat brunette hair and a sweater vest holding a blueberry muffin.

"Hey, I'm sorry, but do you mind if I sit there?" he asked, nodding towards the chair opposite me, "I hate to ask, but it's just jam packed in here today, you know?"

"Of course, knock yourself out," I smiled up at him.

"Thanks, I'm in desperate need of a sit down," he chuckled, "I'm Eric, by the way."

"Bella," I replied, shaking his hand, "So are you in the conservatory?"

"Yup, I'm a sophomore, majoring in theatre," he informed me, through a mouthful of blueberry muffin, "What about you?"

"Ballet, freshman," I told him, giggling at his lack of table etiquette.

"Oh nice one. You ballet dancers impress the hell out of me. No way I could have that kind of stamina. So how are you finding things so far?"

I looked around at the crowded room and sighed slightly. "It's okay I guess. I mean I loved the class just now, it was tough but I'm more than up for the challenge. I don't know, I guess I just thought I'd make friends instantly. The girls in my class all seem nice but kind of distant, and as for my roommate, well… ," I quibbled over how to describe Candice, "you could say she's not the most normal of people."

"Hey I hear you, I found it difficult meeting people last year too. It's like that clique-y bullshit doesn't end in high school," Eric reassured me, "but if you really want to meet some new people you should come to this party tonight. These guys in my dorm throw it every year, it's like a 'back to school' tradition. It's in 101 in Rosenstein House."

"Oh really? I'm just across the way in Darndale. You sure it wouldn't be rude to come uninvited?"

"Please, the majority of people that go aren't invited. It's a chance for all the freshers to meet each other and for the upper classmates to hit on the freshers. At least, those with no class," Eric smirked.

"Sounds like exactly what I need, I'll be there!" I exclaimed, suddenly excited for the evening.

"Awesome, things kick off around 9pm and it's byob," he said, taking another bite of his muffin.

I looked at him puzzled. "Byob?"

"Ah man, you really are new to the whole college thing, huh?" he chuckled, "bring your own bottle. If you want some booze for the night, bring it yourself."

"Ahh I get it, will do. Thank you so much Eric!"

We spent the lunch break chatting about college and what it was like living here. I learned that most of the parties went on in the boys' dorm, mostly in attempts to impress the girls. The warden usually came to break it up around 11.30pm, in which case people would then go out to the clubs, or start it back up again somewhere else.

He told me about some of the people to watch out for on campus, for good and bad reasons. I had never been all that great at remembering names, so he promised to point out as many as he could in the evening.

Lunch came to an end all too soon, but I was just ecstatic about having potentially made a friend. Was it too early to call him a friend? Ah what the hell, we ended up sharing another blueberry muffin, I think that screams friendship.

Going back to classes, I felt my spirits immediately lift. And with that so did my confidence. I was just as good as the other girls. Hell maybe I was even better.

I mean really, it was as if some of them had never learnt how to point your damn toe!


	3. Taste of Vodka

I didn't know why I was so nervous. I mean, I had been to plenty of parties before. Too many, in fact.

And yet once 9pm rolled around I had tried on just about everything in my closet. I was looking for that perfect combination of classy and slutty. I eventually settled on some high waisted shorts and a white lace top. I curled my hair and then messed it up a little to make it look more natural. Simple make up, nothing too over the top.

It was 9.45pm before I felt completely satisfied with my appearance. I grabbed a bag and threw my purse and some lipstick in. I was just about at the door when I heard a sudden voice.

"Where are you going?"

"Holy crap! Candice? I thought you were asleep!" I cried out, placing a hand on my chest to calm down. She hadn't made a peep in the last hour so I just assumed she was getting some shut-eye.

"Nope," she replied, blinking at me.

"I…uh…I'm going to a party in the boys' dorm. Um…you wanna come?" I asked, praying she'd say no.

Sure enough she looked horrified as both the mention of 'party' and 'boys'. She shook her head briskly and sank back down into the covers of her bed.

I shook my head in confusion before lightly closing the door behind me.

The boys' dormitory was almost identical to our one, if it wasn't for that faint smell of…well of boys. I could already hear the music blaring and saw a swarm of people spilling out of room 101. Surely this was against fire regulations. There had to be at least 200 people trying to cram into a room built for two.

The party seemed to have just spilled out into the corridor and some of the neighbouring rooms had opened their doors too.

I weaved my way through the crowd and walked over to the refreshment table. As per Eric's advice I had brought along a bottle of vodka. I grabbed some mixer and poured it into a cup.

While awkwardly looking around, realising I knew no one, I found the only way to ease my nerves was to just keep drinking. Before I knew it my cup was empty and I had to refill.

"Damn, so you're a vodka girl? Never would have guessed!" I heard Eric yell over the loud music. He swept me in for a hug and I could smell the beer off him.

"What can I say? Nothing beats the spirits," I laughed, gulping down another few sips. If Eric was already this pissed then I had a lot to drink to catch up.

"You been here long?" he asked, taking another swig from his bottle.

I shook my head while bobbing along to whatever trash song was playing. "Just got here actually."

"Fashionably late, I like it. Come on, I want to introduce you to some people," he grabbed my arm and guided me through the crowd over to a group huddled near the wall.

There were two girls and a guy engaged in a seemingly hilarious conversation, as they erupted with laughter as we approached them.

"Eric, we always knew you were hiding a girlfriend from us," one of the girls sniggered, nudging Eric's shoulder. I saw him shuffle awkwardly but he seemed to shake it off.

"Guys, this is Bella. She's a freshman dance major. Bella this is Angela, Jessica and Mike," he told me, pointing to his friends respectively.

The girl that had teased him, Jessica, smiled brightly at me. "Welcome to college Bella, you're in for one hell of a ride."

I couldn't quite sense her tone. She was being friendly, but there almost seemed to be a slight menace to her voice that I couldn't pin point. I was probably just imagining it.

"So Bella, are you single?" Mike asked, smirking at me. It made me slightly uneasy.

"Jesus Mike, you've met the girl all of two seconds and you're already hitting on her?" Angela hit him lightly on his chest.

"I was just asking a question, jeesh!" he exclaimed, winking at me.

Angela rolled her eyes and grabbed my arm. "Just ignore him, Bella. Come with me, I'll show you the ropes around here."

I didn't have time to respond before she had brought me back to the drinks table and grabbed a gin and tonic for herself. I refilled my cup again, not realising I had already drank the second refill.

"So have you met many people here yet?" she shouted over the music.

"Not really, just Eric to be honest. And my roommate I guess. There was another guy, I don't even know his name though," I replied.

"You meet so many people in your first few weeks, don't be surprised if you never see them ever again," she laughed, swaying and sipping her drink.

"Oh, believe me. I definitely want to see that boy again," I laughed.

She threw her head back and joined my laughter. "That pretty, huh?"

I opened my eyes wide and nodded. She gave me a knowing nod back. We both bobbed along to the music for a bit as I let my eyes wander. They stopped when they came across a certain Greek God in the corner of the room.

"Oh my God, that's him!" I exclaimed, gesturing towards the boy. Angela followed my gaze and stopped in her tracks.

"Him? The one in the black shirt? Are you sure?"

"Positive. Who could forgot that face," I chuckled. "Maybe I should go over and say hi."

"Bella, I'm going to stop you right there. That guy is one of the most popular guys in the whole college. He's a junior and a bit of a player. There's no way he's going to remember some random girl he met and oh my god he's coming over here!"

I looked up to see that the handsome guy was in fact making his way over to us.

"Oh my god, I… I can't. I'm not emotionally prepared for this today," Angela stammered and ran off into the crowd.

"Angela?" I called out after her, turning to see where she went, but she was already gone. I was about to go and see if I could find her when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I swivelled around to be met with those beautiful eyes.

"You know, it occurred to me when I left yesterday that I never even told you my name," he said, in his charming smooth voice.

"I realised that. How very rude of you," I smirked, opting to play it cool.

He smiled back at me and laughed slightly. The sound was amazing. He stuck out his hand to shake mine.

"Allow me to introduced myself properly then. I'm Jacob Black."


	4. Taste of Vodka (coming back up)

Jacob was obviously an insanely handsome guy, but after talking to him I realised that he was pretty awesome himself. He told me all about his life here. He was a junior majoring in political science and hoped to pave his way into the political stream. Because of this he was heavily involved in the political campaigns that took place on campus.

"I guess the goal is to be elected student body president by the end of the year," he told me, taking a swig from his can.

I couldn't help but be impressed by his ambition. It's not fair really. How can one person have looks, charisma and personality? What chance do the rest of us have?

Our conversation came to an end all too soon when he was called away by some guys to help them carry in a keg. I gave him a little wave and went to go find Eric and the others.

I spotted them chatting in the same corner as they had been earlier on. They stopped when I got to them and looked expectedly at me.

"Well?" Angela beamed. I gave her a puzzled look, begging for some clueing in as to what was so extraordinary.

"Jacob Black! You were talking to him for ages, he must be pretty interested in you," she winked, nudging my elbow. I could feel myself start to blush and noticed a frown overtaking Jessica's face.

"He was probably just being polite," she stated. Angela and Eric both threw her a strained look.

"What? I'm not trying to be rude, it's just why would someone as influential as him waste his time with a fresher? No offence or anything," she offered a half-ass smile to me.

"We were just chatting, it wasn't anything like that. He's pretty cool," I replied, opting to ignore her blatant jealousy.

"Well if you ask me, that guy is nothing but shady," Mike announced, glancing over to where he was setting down the keg, "It's like everything he does comes with a hidden agenda."

I didn't get that vibe from Jacob. He seemed like a genuine, hard-working guy and I couldn't help thinking that Mike was also harbouring some jealousy.

"Why are we even still discussing this? Tonight is not a night to analyse ever student on campus, it's a night to get shit-faced and we are all lagging behind," Eric piped up.

Famous last words.

The night flew by in a haze after that. All I could remember was a blur of new faces and names (none of which were retained in my brain), thumping music pounding though my ear drums, and many…many shots. Too many.

As the night started to dwindle down and people slowly started to filter out I came back to mind and realised how overboard I had gone.

"Bella, you okay? You don't look so good," Eric came over to me.

"I don't…ugh…I don't feel so good," I muttered, concentrating hard on not vomiting. Not quite the introduction I needed to college life.

"Oh shit, don't get sick here. Take this," Eric said, handing me a key, "Go up to room 325, it's mine. You can puke all you want in that bathroom."

"Thanks Eric," I croaked, and headed straight for the elevator. Every second was a battle. I could feel the nausea creeping up on me.

I eventually got to his door and burst through it as quickly as possible. I ran straight in to the bathroom and…well…you know.

I flushed the toilet immediately and looked in the mirror. Amazingly I didn't look as awful as I felt. I straightened myself up, took a swirl of mouthwash, and went to go back downstairs, but I didn't quite make it that far.

"I'd appreciate if you could close the door next time you do that," a guy said, nonchalantly.

I jumped in fright and swivelled around. A guy with messy golden hair was sitting at the desk with a book and a notepad open in front of him. He barely glanced up, keeping his eyes focused on his work. I hadn't noticed him at all when I came in, probably since I darted straight to the bathroom.

"I..uh..I'm so sorry, I didn't see you there. I'm friends with Eric, he said I could come up here to…refresh myself," I stammered, shifting nervously on the spot.

The boy smirked and looked up at me. Holy crap, he was stunning. Were all New York guys this pretty? Impossible.

"Yeah I gathered that much when you used a key to open my door," he said, sarcastically. Okay, that was kind of rude. I shook it off though, I mean I had just puked in his bathroom.

"You weren't down at the party?" I asked. Obviously he wasn't, but I felt like I had to say something to cut the awkwardness of the moment.

He just laughed and turned back to his books. "Not really my scene."

I knew I should have taken that as my cue to leave, but there was something about this guy that intrigued me. I couldn't quite put my finger on it though.

"Maybe I should skip the next one too," I joked, laughing nervously. He looked up at me again and furrowed his brow, clearly deep in thought.

"Let me ask you this. What do you think you've gained from getting wasted and making a fool of yourself tonight? You'll have a hangover tomorrow and worry whether you embarrassed yourself, but then you'll go out and do the exact same thing next week."

"Well, I guess that's true but—"

"It's our generation nowadays. I can't help feeling like we're all just lost, searching for something meaningful to take from this miserable life," he seemed to float off into his own stream of consciousness. It made me slightly uncomfortable hearing this stranger coming out with all these profound thoughts, but I was too interested to make him stop.

"Sometimes I just worry, you know? What if I just drift through his life never finding that meaning. No one will ever mean anything to me and I'll just be doomed to an eternity of feeling numb," he continued. I had to fight the urge to lean over and give him a big hug, telling him that everything was going to be okay.

"I think we all feel that way sometimes. Deep down, I guess we all just want to be loved," I replied in an attempt to show him I understood how he felt.

I noticed a small smile twitching on his lips, but I couldn't figure out what could possibly be funny at a time like this.

I was just about to ask him when the door flew open and Eric hustled in.

"Bella, are you okay? I was just coming up to check—oh," he stopped when he noticed the guy towering above me. "You two have met. Sorry Edward, I didn't think you'd be in."

Edward. It was nice to put a name to the face.

He just smirked and went back to sit at his desk. "Have fun at your party," he called out, indicating it was time for us to leave.

I slowly walked back towards Eric, glancing back at Edward one last time.

I wasn't quite sure what had gone on here, but I felt a weird closeness to this guy. It was as if he had just given me a microscope into his mind.


	5. Sore Head, Sore Feet

The next morning came far too soon. I could feel my head pounding as I got out of bed, but I knew I just had to put up with it.

I groaned as I hauled myself over to the bathroom, sluggishly dragging my feet against the floor.

"This is what I don't drink," Candice mumbled, from where she was sitting at her desk.

"Thanks for the input, Candice," I snapped back, slightly more snarky than I had intended. She just shrugged and went back to reading her book.

Dancing whilst hangover is not something I would recommend. I could feel how sloppy my movements were but just didn't have the brain power to improve them. Lunch couldn't have come any slower.

I waddled over to the changing room and took of my pointe shoes. My toes had begun to cramp and I cursed myself for not bringing along a few bandages to ease the pain. I tried rolling them out a little, but it didn't do much good.

I audibly sighed and began to pack my things into my bag.

"Hey, you seem like you need these," a voice rang out from one of the benches behind me. I turned around to see a petite girl with spiky black hair holding out a roll of bandages.

"Oh my god, you are a life saver!" I exclaimed, reaching over to take them off her. I immediately began wrapping them around the tips of my feet.

"No problem," she chuckled, "I know how shitty it is to not have them."

"Are you a ballet major too?" I asked.

"No, I'm in hip hop. I tried out ballet in my first year but it never quite suited me. I guess I'm just too small," she replied, "but I remember how essential these bad boys were." I threw the bandages back to her, thanking her again.

"I'm a junior now. I'm guessing you're just starting out?"

"Is it that obvious?" I cringed. I was trying so hard to give off the impression that I knew what I was doing.

"Don't worry, it's just because I haven't seen you around. The Dance Conservatory isn't that big, everyone kind of knows everyone," she told me.

I was relieved to hear that I wasn't sticking out like a sore thumb. My phone buzzed in my lap and I looked down to see a message from Eric.

 **From Eric:** Hey Bella, if you're free for lunch come join me and the gang, we're at Rizzo's on campus! :)

I quickly wrote back saying that I would come straight over. I threw the rest of my things into my bag and stood up from the bench.

"Thank you so much again, I'm actually starting to regain feeling in my feet," I joked.

"Anytime. I'm Alice by the way," she smiled.

"Bella. I couldn't run but nice to meet you!" I waved at her and made my way over to the door.

Rizzo's was one of the less busy coffee spots on campus. It had a pretty relaxed atmosphere, full of couches placed around coffee tables.

I walked over to where Eric, Mike and Angela were deep in discussion.

"Hey guys," I greeted them, plonking myself down beside Mike.

"Bella settle an argument here, will you? Do you think Mike could have any chance with that girl over there?" Angela asked, nodding towards the corner. I looked over to see a stunningly beautiful girl sitting alone.

"I could get a girl like that whenever I wanted," Mike bragged.

"Alright big man, I'll give you ten bucks if you get her number," Eric snorted. Mike looked back at the girl and seemed to hesitate for a split second before getting up from his seat and strolling confidently over to her.

"You're so mean, he's going to be mortified," Angela giggled, swatting Eric's shoulder. He just shrugged and happily watched as the girl's face was overcome with confusion.

I laughed at the sight of them but couldn't help my eyes wandering a little bit. They stopped when I noticed a certain someone sitting by the window.

He looked as attractive as he had last night, his hair still having that 'just out of bed' quality. His brow was furrowed as he listened intently to the boy sitting opposite him. The boy was covered in tattoos and had spiky brown hair. He seemed very intimidating.

I was broken out of my fixation when Mike returned to the table with an anguished look on his face.

"You know what, I was just thinking that this whole thing was stupid. It just objectifies women, I mean why should she feel forced to give her number if—"

"Aww dude, that bad?" Eric howled in laughter. Angela let her grin break out too and I couldn't keep a small smile back.

"I hate all of you," Mike muttered, gloomily, grabbing his coat and leaving towards the exit.

"Aw jeesh, I better go apologise," Angela said, in between fits of laughter. She quickly ran after him.

My eyes flickered back to where Edward and his friend were sitting and I found myself overcome with curiosity.

"Hey Eric, I know this may be random but I gotta ask. You roommate—"

"Yeah I figured this was coming. I wouldn't have told you to go up to my room if I knew he was there, I'm sorry," he frowned.

"What do you mean?" I asked, puzzled.

"Edward's not a good guy. He's a bit of a dick actually," Eric said, looking away.

"Really?" I remarked, surprised. He didn't give me that impression at all. "I don't think you're being fair. He just seems like a really sensitive guy."

Eric snorted out and shook his head. "Believe me, I know him well enough by now. We were roommates last year too. Whatever he said to you, he was just fucking around."

"Oh I don't think so. He was talking about some pretty serious shit. Like—"

"Let me guess, he started going on about the meaning of life and his worries about being numb forever?"

I blinked dumbfounded, not knowing how to respond. Eric just chuckled in exasperation.

"Yeah, he did the same thing to me when I first met him."

I started to think about our encounter last night. It had seemed so raw and authentic, was that just because I was drunk? The more I thought about, the more I realised how peculiar it was. He had been all rude and sarcastic and then suddenly just flipped a switch. My eyes opened wide in shock.

"Oh my god, it was all bullshit!" I exclaimed.

"Like I say, he's kind of a dick," Eric muttered. "Anyways, I'm going to catch up with the others. You coming?"

"Nah, I have to get back to class. I'm just gonna grab a coffee first, I'll see you later," I waved goodbye and walked up to the encounter, still reeling with anger over my stupidity.

I ordered a small cappuccino and waited patiently while the barista went to get it. I felt someone approach me from the side.

"Have you found someone to love you yet?" that voice said softly. I frowned deeper and didn't even bother to look up at him.

"You're an ass, you know that?" I spat at him.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't resist," he laughed, running a hand through his hair. His stupid, golden hair.

"So that's how you get your kicks, huh?"

"Look when you walk around looking like a lost little lamb don't be surprised if people abuse that," he smirked.

How dare he. He didn't know anything about me.

The barista handed me my coffee and I grabbed it hastily, slightly burning my hand in my process but there was no way I was letting him know that.

"See you around Bella." he winked, with that annoying smirk still etched on his face.

I rolled my eyes and stormed out of the café without looking back.


	6. Rainy Day Blues

The next two weeks flew by so fast, I could barely keep up. My days were filled with classes in the mornings and afternoons, usually broken up with lunch dates with Eric and the gang. There was some type of party on most evenings, I soon learned that there was never an excuse to stay in at home.

I had become great friends with Eric and Angela, and by extension Mike and Jessica, though I still felt a bit uneasy with Mike's constant flirting and Jessica's death-glares. I saw Alice popping around the Conservatory now and then, though I hadn't really had the chance to get to know her.

Edward appeared every now and then too, usually with some snide remark or sarcastic comment. I tried to tune him out the best I could. I really only saw him when I was visiting Eric's, so it wasn't all that difficult to avoid him.

On the bright side, I bumped into Jacob quite frequently, and it was becoming increasingly easy to talk to him. His beauty still amazed me, but I managed to keep my cool and actually get to know him.

It was a rainy Thursday afternoon when I hauled myself across campus to visit the computer labs. My grant forms had started to build up and I knew I'd become snowed under if I didn't sort them out now.

I awkwardly closed up my umbrella and shook off my hat, letting the raindrops shake off.

"It's a bit wet out there, huh?" Jacob mused. He was standing by one of the printers in the corner of the lab, feeding some paper into the tray.

"I thought leaving Forks would mean getting away from this rain," I groaned, hanging up my jacket. I walked over to him, dragging my shoes on the carpet to dry them out.

"What you up to?" I asked, peering over at his stack of papers.

"I'm copying my campaign posters, how do they look?" he handed me the top flyer.

His face was blown up in the centre and the heading read in bold lettering **VOTE JACOB BLACK SU PRESIDENT.** There was a brief list of his campaign promises and the bottom read _Black picks up the flack._

"They look pretty great, I like the slogan," I giggled, handing it back to him.

"Thank God for that. I mean I would have appreciated any constructive criticism, but I have just made 200 copies so there's no going back now," Jacob grinned.

"Isn't it early to be campaigning though? I mean the term has barely started," I pointed out.

"Yeah, I won't actually be canvassing for another few months, I just wanted to get all the administration stuff done and dusted so I can concentrate on the actual campaign," he explained.

I couldn't help a small smile etching across my face as I watched him feed more paper into the printer. He turned around to catch my face before I could hide it.

"What are you smiling at?" he asked.

"Oh nothing," I blushed, embarrassed, "it's just nice to see how passionate you are about this whole thing. It kind of feels like most people are age just care about getting drunk and hooking up. You're so motivated about your future."

He smiled to himself and looked away. Had I just made him embarrassed? Me? I never thought that could have been possible.

I saw him looking up at me, and he seemed to be thinking about something. I felt a little awkward, not really knowing whether he was going to say what he was thinking.

"Well, I better get cracking on my own work," I said, turning around to walk towards the computers.

"Hey Bella, hang on a sec," he called out, before I had barely taken three steps.

I felt my stomach do a little flip. Play it cool, Bella, you don't even know what he wants.

I swivelled around expectedly.

"I was just…uh…wondering whether you might want to…well…maybe we could…this is probably stupid…um..," he mumbled. How could someone this hot get so nervous?

"Would you want to go to dinner tomorrow night…with me?"

I could feel my heartbeat racing and tried to fight the huge grin overtaking my face.

"That sounds great!" I exclaimed, attempting in vain to sound relaxed.

"Awesome, I could pick you up around 7?"

I quickly agreed and we exchanged numbers. Once he left I went back to the computers and tried to get all my work done, but strangely enough my mind was a tiny bit preoccupied.


	7. A Taste of Italy

The next night Jacob picked me up just as he had said he would and we headed into the city. I was excited, not only for the date, but also to get the chance to see the city. I had been here a few weeks but hadn't found the time to go exploring.

After parking the car we walked down one of the streets for about ten minutes before turning off into a side street. I raised my eyebrows in surprise. The street looked more like an alleyway and it wasn't very lit up or busy. In fact it looked pretty deserted.

Jacob seemed to sense my apprehension.

"I know this looks a little bit dodgy, but there's this Italian bistro here and I swear they serve the best pizza you've ever tasted," he assured me, placing his hand gently on my back.

I immediately felt much safer and trusted his judgment. We reached the bistro and he chivalrously opened the door and let me go in first.

I was amazed. The place was adorable. It only had about twenty tables and they were all decorated with cute candles that had wax spilling over the edges.

There were eight other couples quietly dining and mellow jazz music played at a low volume, just loud enough to set the tone.

A waiter promptly seated us and handed us the menus, along with a list of wine. Jacob picked it up and ran his eyes through it.

"Are you a red or white kind of girl?" he asked, perusing through the list.

"Oh, I'm fine with water," I insisted, taking a gulp of my glass.

"Don't be silly, it's on me. You deserve a little glass of wine after a long week of classes," he grinned.

"Well actually, it's just…well…you know I'm only 19," I blushed.

"Doesn't matter, we're in Italy now," he laughed.

We settled on a sweet rosé from the list and within minutes our dishes were served up. The pizzas were big enough to feed four people, and yet none went to waste.

Jacob was refreshingly sophisticated. I listened to him talk about talk about his experience in the political game and his hopes for his next campaign.

Admittedly, he did seem to talk exclusively about politics, and asked me very little questions about myself. But I didn't even care. I was lucky enough to be on a date with a gorgeous upperclassman who was set to become the next student union president. I had nothing to complain about.

"And for dessert what will the lovely couple be wanting?" the waiter asked in his thick Italian accent when he returned to our table.

"Oh man, Bella, you have got to try the chocolate soufflé, it is divine," Jacob exclaimed.

"Sounds good to me," I smiled, handing my menu back to the waiter. "Actually, I think I'm going to take this time to run to the bathroom."

I headed towards the bathrooms, located around a corner from the main bistro dining room. They were at the end of a corridor that had a large window looking out into the alleyway we had come up in.

As I walked past the window I noticed a familiar head of messy golden hair lurking at one of the corners. He was wearing a buttoned up black coat and gloves.

Why on earth would Edward be here? There didn't seem to be much amenities around here apart from the bistro and some residential apartments.

As my mind began to run wild with possibilities I saw another man approaching him. This man was huge, he must have been at least 6'4'', and had an extremely broad build. He was wearing a cap and also had gloves.

I could see, even from this far back, that their exchange was not exactly pleasant. The man seemed to be hissing something while Edward stared back with a frown. The man looked around his shoulder and I quickly ducked down, afraid he would see me peering out from the window.

When I got back up I could only see their backs walking away down the alleyway. I couldn't stop myself. Before I knew it I had ducked out the door of the bistro and followed them inconspicuously.

They turned down an even narrower alley, only a few metres long. I hung back around the corner and leaned over to try and hear what they were saying.

"I'm serious Cullen, you're on thin ice this time," the man scolded.

"I don't take threats from a lackey, you go back and tell Lukawski it's in his best interest to keep business partnerships intact. There's plenty of others interested, believe me," Edward replied, in a confident, menacing tone.

I couldn't make sense of any of this. What business could he be involved in? Why was this huge man seemingly afraid of someone like Edward?

I couldn't hear what they were saying from that point on but I noticed Edward slipping a small parcel wrapped in brown paper out from his coat and into the hands of the large man.

They kept discussing something under their breath, something I was dying to hear. I tried to etch myself closer to them without being noticed. Unfortunately, I took a wrong step and accidentally slipped on the sidewalk, landing on my ass with a huge thud.

Before I could get up and run the two men were standing above me. Edward looked completely confused but the other man looked outraged.

He grabbed me by the hem of my shirt and dragged me up, throwing me against the wall of the alleyway.

"Who do you work for, huh?" he yelled, getting right up to my face. "You a spy for Cleo? You can tell him that I am not above beating the crap out of a chick—-"

"Jesus cut it out, would you?" Edward shouted at him, shoving him away from me. He stood between me and the man.

"She works for me. I had her here to make sure we weren't being followed," he said calmly, looking straight at the man.

"And she knows about—"

"She knows about it all. Like I say, she's an employee", Edward cut the man off before he could spill the beans about their whole exchange.

He turned to where I was still cowering in fear and shock.

"We're done here. Go out and tell Harrison to start the car back up," he frowned at me, clearly fuming inside though playing it cool.

I cautiously nodded and walked slowly away, back towards the bistro.

Once inside the door again I headed straight for the bathroom to splash some water in my face. My heart was still pounding and I was shaking. I knew I couldn't go back into Jacob looking like this so I took five minutes to calm myself down and straighten up.

I think I seemed cool and relaxed when I went back to the table. The desserts were already served and Jacob had eaten half of his. I shouldn't have been surprised, I was gone for about twenty minutes.

"I am so sorry," I apologised as soon as I sat back down. "I didn't mean to take that long."

"I was starting to wonder whether you had done a runner on me," he joked.

"I would never," I smiled, and started to dig in to the soufflé, "apologies again."

"Don't sweat it, it happens to us all," he shrugged.

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused.

"It was a lot of pizza. And with all that bread at the start too. It's no biggie to have relieve yourself," he said nonchalantly, spooning the dessert into his mouth.

I kept eating mine too, mostly to avoid having to respond.

This night had started out amazingly well. Somehow by the end of it, I had been almost beaten up and my date thought that I had had the shits for the last twenty minutes. Wonderful.


	8. Cold Wind, Hot Coffee

I spent most of the weekend holed up in my room, partly to get some work done, partly to avoid any awkward encounter with Edward.

Date night had been eventful to say the least, though none of it had to do with the guy I was actually on the date with.

I wasn't sure if Jacob had sensed my shift in mood after coming back from the alley. He had happily chattered on about his campaign, not noticing my silence.

When we got back to the dorms he had asked if I'd like to go out again sometime which I agreed to and the politely pecked me on the cheek. I was grateful that was all that happened.

Jacob is smoking hot and ordinarily I'd be begging him to kiss me, but my mind was far too rattled after what I had witnessed.

Each time I tried to make sense of the encounter it just led to more confusion so I figured it best to just forget about it and move on.

Monday morning came with a shivering wind. I had to run back into my room to fetch my scarf and hat after realising how cold it was.

It was a relief to get inside the door of the Conservatory. I quickly shook my hat off and reached up to place all my things into my locker.

"Hey Bella!" a voice exclaimed loudly, causing my to bang my head off the metal door.

"Oh shit, I'm so sorry," Mike panicked, awkwardly patting my head in an attempt to ease the pain.

"It's fine, Mike," I groaned, "you just surprised me. What are you doing here?"

He beamed and revealed a coffee cup from behind his back. "I thought you might want this."

I hesitantly took the cup from him, to his delight. "Um…thanks…but I kind of meant what are you doing _here?_ You don't go to the Conservatory," I pointed out, remembering that most of his classes were on across the campus.

"Oh well…I just…it's cold…maybe you might want…," he stammered nervously before seemingly landing on an idea, "I had walked over with Eric and was just leaving."

I decided not to question it. Admittingly, the coffee was good. I hadn't had a chance to pick some up.

"So anyways, Eric mentioned that you went out with Jacob Black over the weekend. How did that happen? And how did it go?" he asked, putting a lot of effort into sounding nonchalant, but failing miserably.

I fought the urge to groan. I was not in the mood to discuss my dating life right now, especially not with Mike of all people.

As I opened my mouth to speak I was quite literally saved by the ringing bell.

"Oh Mike, I'm so sorry. That means I really have to get to class, they're super strict about being late. Catch you later?" I had barely waited for his reply before I headed down the corridor to the classrooms.

Once out of his sight I sighed a breath of relief and took some more sips of the coffee. I heard a muffled snigger coming from behind me. I swivelled around to see Alice perched on one of the long benches, stretching out her legs.

"Something funny?" I mused.

She just shrugged and shook her head. "I'd be careful with that coffee, that's all. That dude has stalker written all over him."

I knew she was joking but I suddenly didn't much feel like the cappuccino anymore.

"You saw?" I moaned.

"He was loitering around here for a good 40 minutes, asking random people whether they knew where Bella was. Not exactly inconspicuous," she laughed.

I hung my head back in defeat. Affection from Mike Newton really was the last thing I needed.

The day went by quick. Classes were the same as ever, though I could definitely feel them getting harder all the time. I guess they really had eased us into the shallow end.

I was intending to head straight back to the dorm when I got a text from Eric asking if I wanted to meet at the Café. I made my way there, praying that Mike wouldn't be there too.

I was glad to see that it was only Eric. I bought a double fudge brownie and we happily chatted away. I told him about my date with Jacob, consciously leaving out all details about what happened with Edward.

He told me how he had spent the weekend with the others and then had a movie night with just Angela.

"Ohhh Angela," I winked playfully. He seemed to stiffen for a second and then blushed slightly.

"No no, it's not like that."

"Well, whatever you say," I joked.

We sat around for another hour before he left to go to his evening classes. I gathered my things and made my way out of the Café. The wind had really picked up and I was eager to get out of the cold into my nice warm bed.

As I mentally planned what I had to do when I got home, I felt someone tug my arm. I turned around shrieking and struck the assailant squarely in the jaw, feeling pain ache through my hand.

"Jesus, where did you learn to punch like that?" Edward yelled, clutching his face in agony.

I would have been proud of my hit had it not been for my hand. I shook it out hoping to numb the pain.

"Well for the love of God you can't just attack someone like that!" I exclaimed angrily.

"I wasn't attacking you idiot. I called out like three times and you didn't turn. I need to speak with you," he muttered.

"About?" I questioned, playing dumb.

He furrowed his brows at me in exasperation. "I think you know what about. Listen, you can't tell anyone what you say the other night in the city. I'm serious. None of your little friends or classmates or anything. It's really important—"

"Oh thaaat, I had forgotten all about that," I shrugged, setting off again towards my dorm. But Edward wasn't letting me go that easily.

"I mean it. You don't want to get tied up in this," he said, menacingly.

"What is _this?_ What was that all about?" I asked, not really expecting to get the answer.

Just as I expected, he shook his head dismissively. "You don't need to know that."

"Listen, I don't give a fuck about whatever games you're getting up to in the city. It doesn't impact my life whatsoever. So yeah, I'll keep quiet," I insisted, and started walking away again.

"Good. Keep it that way. Otherwise it'll backfire on you…umm..," his trailing off made me stop in my tracks. I turned around in disbelief.

"Oh my God," I said, "you don't know my name."

"No, I do, it's…um…," Edward seemed to quite literally rack his brains, to no avail.

"You really are a dick, you know that?" I spat at him, and walked home even faster.

"Oh and by the way, IT'S BELLA!" I yelled, not even turning around.

"Bella…right, right," I heard him utter faintly. I rolled my eyes and shook my head.

What a prick.


	9. Girls' Night

Friday morning brought a crippling cold with it, making it extra hard to get out of my nice warm bed. Nevertheless I managed to haul myself into classes and was actually thankful to dance as a warm up.

It was slightly alarming how fast college was going. I was already a month in and felt like I hadn't really done anything yet.

As I headed home from campus I bumped into an eager Angela.

"Bella, just who I was hoping to see! How would you feel about a girls night tonight at mine? Just you, me and Jess?"

I was never one for having girl friends. Even in school I seemed to associate almost exclusively with guys. So the idea of a full night gossiping and exchanging make overs seemed like hell.

Then again, college was a place for new things…

"Sounds great Angela," I said through a slightly strained smile. She didn't seem to notice and excitingly told me the details.

I agreed to go over later on and was soon on my way again. The wind had started to ramp up and I was already looking forward to changing into my fluffy socks and big sweatshirt.

Just as I was reaching the door of the dorm I heard my phone buzzing in my pocket. I awkwardly tried to get it, hastily answering without even seeing who was calling.

"Hello?" I yelled, a little too abruptly, bursting into the dorm entrance.

"Hey Bella! Is..is this a bad time?" Jacob's voice rang out.

"Oh shit, Jacob I'm so sorry. I'm just getting in from outside. Man, that's some serious wind!" I exclaimed, noticing the furrowing brows of the receptionist from behind her desk.

"Tell me about it. Anyways, I was just checking in and wondering whether you might wanna catch a movie tonight with me?"

My stomach flipped a little bit before the realisation came crashing down.

"Oh Jacob, I would love to but I'm so sorry I–"

"Excuse me love, I'm trying to concentrate here. Can you stop your blabbering and take it somewhere where no unfortunate soul has to listen to it?" the receptionist snapped.

I stood in a silent shock for a millisecond and then quickly bustled up the stairs.

"Bella…you still there?"

"Sorry Jacob, I was just saying that I would really love to but––"

I was cut off once again from a booming stereo on the first floor. Jeez, was this girl deaf? I quickly went up the next set of stairs to get away from the noise.

"Jacob, I'm really sorry I just –"

"Bella? Bella? You're kind of breaking up…," Jacob's voice was muffled and segmented. I cursed under my breath and tried to get through to him again, but it was no use.

I sighed as I hung up the phone. You'd think a college dorm would have better reception. I rang him another three times but the call wouldn't go through.

Once I got into my room I changed into my fluffy socks and big sweatshirt. Funnily, they didn't make me quite as happy as I had imagined they would.

As 8pm approached I grabbed my bag and made the walk over to Goldsmith dorm. It was slightly bigger than Darndale, but was ultimately much the same.

I went up to room 243 to find Angela, but was instead greeted by a brunette girl.

"Yeah?" she snapped, disgruntled. I was clearly interrupting something.

"Oh..um..sorry..I was looking for Angela?" I asked, confused.

"She's not here," the girl replied.

"Do you…do you know where she is?"

"What am I, her PA?" she frowned and slammed the door in my face.

Well that was rude.

"Bella, I'm so sorry. Change of plan, we're staying in Jessica's room. It's number 316," Angela informed me when I phoned her.

Jessica answered the door and had her usual smile plastered on her face. The one that seemed just ever so slightly forced.

"Come in, come in," she beamed.

They were both already in their pyjamas and had a huge bowl of popcorn. I laid my bag on the ground and sat up on one of the beds.

"You don't have a roommate?" I asked.

"She's out of town for the week. So nice to have the place to myself for once," Jessica smirked. I couldn't help wishing that Candice would go out of town for a while.

"Sorry I forgot to tell you we changed room. We were having it at mine but then Lauren told me she was…entertaining…tonight."

Both Angela and Jessica wrinkled their noses.

"So Lauren is that cheerful girl I just met?" I said sarcastically. Angela rolled her eyes.

"She's a nightmare. She's like that all the time," she groaned. Hmm…maybe Candice wasn't so bad after all.

"Not to mention she "entertains" every second night. Ugh she's such a tramp," Jessica said.

"Real nice, Jess," Angela giggled.

"Well what would you call someone who has sex with a different guy all the time?" Jessica laughed.

"Well to be fair, it's not always a different guy. A lot of the time it's the same guy," Angela wrinkled her nose again.

"Ugh yeah. Man, I really don't know what Edward sees in her," Jessica sighed.

My attention was suddenly grabbed. "Her and Edward are…together?" I asked.

"Well, they hook up a lot. Edward doesn't strike me as a relationship type," Jessica replied.

"Much to your dismay," Angela smirked. Jessica frowned.

"Jess has had a huge crush on Edward for like a year," Angela laughed, as a pillow came flying at her head.

"I do not!" Jessica exclaimed.

"Really? He seems like an absolute asshole to me," I stated. Both girls looked surprised.

"Not many girls say that. Everyone seems to be too entranced by his looks," Angela wiggled her eyebrows at Jessica, who just rolled her eyes once more.

"Well I mean, don't get me wrong. The guy's handsome. But he's a pain to be around," I groaned, thinking of all our encounters, none of which have been pleasant.

"Well good for you Bella, not getting sucked in by that just-out-of-bed hair. So come on then, spill all the deets about Jacob Black," Angela mused, with Jessica perking her head in interest.

I should have seen that one coming. I told them all about the date, once again omitting the part in the alleyway. We chatted some more and Jessica told me all the guys she was interested in. Boy…that was a long list.

"And what about Mike? You guys seem to be close," I pointed out.

She shook her head profusely. "Mike's just a friend," she insisted.

"Then why do you go crazy when he even looks at another girl?" Angela smirked. Jessica shot her a glare and she let it go. I decided it best not to mention Mike and I's encounter earlier on in the week.

"So come on then Ang, you must have someone on the go," I mused.

Angela blushed slightly and seemed to be debating whether she should say something or not. In the end, she gave in.

"Okay, this might sound crazy, but I've kind of been thinking a lot about….well…Eric?"

"YES!" Jessica exclaimed, knocking over the popcorn in the process. "Sorry, sorry, it's just I've been waiting a year for you two to finally get together. You'd be so perfect together!"

"You think so?" Angela laughed.

"Of course, right Bella?" Jessica exclaimed. I nodded in agreement. I could definitely see that happening.

"We're really good friends. To be honest, I kind of thought he would have asked me out by now. Maybe he doesn't think of me like that after all?"

"Nah, he's probably just shy," I suggested, "you could always ask him out?"

Angela shook her head. "No, I would never have the guts…"

"Oh come on! This is the 21st century. That whole men asking the women out thing is so outdated. You want to go out with him then ask him!" I exclaimed.

"Hmm…fine. I'll do it. But only if you walk the walk and ask Jacob on your next date," Angela smiled.

"Fine, no problem," I shrugged.


	10. Delivery Please

Girls' night was surprisingly fun, but man was I wrecked the next morning. It was already 11am by the time I treaded back to my dorm.

I was about to go inside when I noticed a certain cute boy leaving the boys' dorm across the carpark.

"Jacob!" I called out, running over to him. He looked up and seemed almost…annoyed?

"Oh…hey Bella," he murmured.

"I'm so glad I caught you. What's up?" I asked, embarrassingly out of breath from running. For a dancer I'm extremely unfit.

"Just…you know…getting on with stuff," he shrugged. Why was he being so cold?

"Is everything okay?" I asked.

"Well, it's just…I mean…if you're not interested in me you could just say," he blurted out.

I was momentarily shocked into silence. Not interested?

"What…what do you mean?" I stared back blankly.

"Yesterday, you said you'd love to go to the cinema and then…nothing," he mumbled.

"Oh..God no no no! I was saying that I'd love to but I already had plans with the girls. There was just so much noise and then the reception was so bad…I realise that sounds like terrible excuses but I'm actually genuine. Shit, I should have called you back when I left my room," I internally cursed at myself.

He looked quite relieved. "So, you're still…interested in me?"

"Are you kidding?" I burst out, way too eagerly. He just laughed.

"The reason I came over here was actually to ask if you're free tonight? Maybe we could check that movie out after all," I smiled.

A huge grin broke out on his face. "That'd be sweet. Meet you at the cinema at 7?"

I nodded my head in agreement and waved him goodbye. See? It was not hard to ask out a guy at all. And now I had another date.

Another date…with Jacob. Damn, I had to make sure this one was better than the last. It should probably be easy with no stupid Edward to distract me.

I decided I had better pop into the city and find something hot to wear, since my closet was pretty much non-existant. I considered asking Angela and Jessica to tag along, but figured I'd be faster alone.

It was already 1pm by the time I made it into the city. I strolled around the shops pretty aimlessly for about 2 hours. There really wasn't much to see at all. I eventually found a classical little black dress. It was a little more revealing on the chest than I would have liked, but there really was no other option so I went ahead and bought it anyways.

When I got home I immediately started getting ready. I had to admit…I looked good. The dress hugged my figure nicely and gave some extra umpf to the breasts. I styled my hair so it fell in gentle curls and applied a natural make up look with a hint of smoky eyes.

It was only 6pm but I was already set to go. I knew it would only take about 15 minutes to get to the cinema beside the campus, so I figured I'd swing by Angela's to get her approval of the look.

I started walking towards her dorm when I noticed a big figure approaching. I couldn't quite make it out but assumed there was nothing to worry about.

As it came properly into my view, I realised there was a lot to worry about.

It was the huge man I had seen talking to Edward that night in the alleyway. My heart started racing and I looked firmly down at the ground, praying he wouldn't recognise me.

Had he gone yet? I briefly glanced up. Big mistake.

He looked me directly in the eyes and changed his course. Was he…was he coming over to me? No…he couldn't be..he wouldn't—oh yes, yes he was.

He stood towering above me, looking down at me with a menacing glare. I wanted to sink into the ground with fear.

"You're Cullen's employee. You tell him that my job isn't to make deliveries to the kiddie playground that is this college," he huffed, shoving a small parcel into my stomach.

Thankfully he marched away in the opposite direction without another word. I stood still in confusion.

The parcel was a rectangle shaped wrapped in brown envelope. It wasn't any bigger than an average textbook, but boy was it heavy. I shook it against my ear but nothing jiggled.

I seemed to be stuck to the ground. What in the world was this and what was I supposed to do with it? I sighed, realising the only thing I could do was bring it the devil himself.

I swivelled around and headed for the boys' dorm. I guess I wouldn't get the chance to call over to Angela after all.

I knocked on Eric and Edward's door, praying someone would be in, preferably Eric so I could just leave it there and not deal with Edward.

Unfortunately, Edward answered the door. He looked down at me in surprise.

"Uhh…what do you want?"

"To be anywhere but here," I replied dryly. I held out the package in my hands.

"That big guy from that that incident I'm not supposed to talk about just gave me this. He also said to say something about not being a delivery man to kids or something," I pathetically relayed the details.

Edward seemed to stiffen and a frown came over his face. He looked left and right down the empty corridor and then dragged me into his room.

"Hey, what are you doing, get off!" I yelled, as he closed the door.

"When did this happen?" he shouted, running his hand through his hair.

Uhh…like five minutes ago outside. Look I need to go, can you just take this and—"

"That wasn't supposed to be delivered here, FUCK," Edward yelled, slamming the lamp on the desk to the ground where the whole thing shattered.

I jumped and was suddenly scared. Edward looked like a violent maniac, pacing up and down and shouting curse words.

"Umm…," was all I could muster up.

"Idiots! I'm dealing with absolute fucking morons!" he yelled some more.

"Edward…what is this?" I asked. He looked up at me for the first time since dragging me into his room.

"It's just…it's just work stuff. It's nothing big it just needed to be delivered somewhere else by 7pm this evening and now it's all fucked up," he spat, angrily.

"Well, can't you just bring it to where—"

"I can't, I have to get straight to a medical lab," Edward sighed, running his hands through his hair yet again.

"Medical lab? Wait you study medicine? How did I not know that before," I thought out loud. Not the time Bella, really not the time.

He seemed to be deep in thought before he looked up suddenly at me with a twinkle in his eye.

"You," he whispered.

"Uh…me what?"

He looked slightly crazy as he moved closer to me.

"You can deliver it," he grinned, as if all his problems had disappeared.

"What? Are you crazy? I have plans, I need to get to the cinema, I'm meeting—"

"The address is 10 minutes from the cinema. Haha, yes!" he clapped his hands. This joyous side of Edward was slightly more alarming than the violent side.

"I am not a postman," I snapped.

"Look, it's super easy. There's this guy, his name is Rhys. He lives in apartment 23 on 4 Bird Avenue, just down the road from the cinema. Just ring the doorbell and tell him I sent you with the stuff. It'll take 2 minutes, that's all."

"But I…I mean…I have to…what is in this damn package?" I asked, exasperated that I had got myself into this situation.

"It's just some…uh…work stuff. Paperwork, that kind of boring crap. Nothing to get concerned over. And just a heads up, Rhys is very picky over this package so if he sees you've opened it, there's no telling how he'll react," Edward warned me.

I felt a lump in my throat. "Edward is this guy violent?"

"No, of course not. He works for me. He's my friend. As long as you don't do anything stupid, he'll be a delight," he insisted, leading me towards the door.

"Ugh…fine," I reluctantly agreed, figuring it was the quickest way to get out of there.

I walked out the door and started down the corridor.

"Oh and Bella?" Edward called out after me. I turned around, surprised he had actually remembered my name this time.

"With you wearing that dress, he'll be extra delightful," he winked and shut the door.

I rolled my eyes but couldn't help the grin spreading on my face.


	11. Apartment 23

I had been staring at the doorbell for number 23 for a good 10 minutes now. It had been relatively easy to find the apartment block, it really was just down the road from the cinema.

But now that I was actually here I was suddenly scared. Whatever kind of job Edward did, it didn't seem to involve very nice people. Who knew what this guy was actually like.

I was acutely aware that time was ticking on and if I had any hope of making the date with Jacob I really had to get a move in.

I inhaled deeply and eventually pressed in the bell. I was expecting a voice to appear on the monitor but instead there was a large buzzer sound and the main building door creaked open. I took one last breath and walked in.

The building was quite dreary. The walls looked old and there was a lot of dust in the corners. There was a faint smell of weed apparent and I heard a man shouting from one of the apartments.

Thankfully it wasn't coming from the one I had to go to. 23 was towards the end of the corridor on the right. I knocked briskly three times, not wanting to spend much more time in this place.

After a minute or two the door swung open and I found myself staring into a pair of dark blue eyes.

The guy was brunette with a short, spiky hairdo. He was at least 6'3" and was clearly very ripped. My eyes trailed down his arms which were completely covered in tattoos. He had a nose, lip, and eyebrow piercing.

It suddenly dawned on me that I had seen him before. He was the guy that I saw talking to Edward in Rizzo's a couple of weeks ago.

"Yeah?" he grunted at me.

"Um…are you…are you Rhys?" I quivered, desperately trying to stop my legs from shaking. His appearance was so intimidating and I could feel a lump in my throat forming.

"Could be, who's asking?" he replied, raising an eyebrow.

"I..uh..I'm Bella and I'm here…well I've got…I was told to––" I stuttered.

"Oh maaaan," Rhys broke out in an exasperated laugh. I stared up at him utterly confused.

"Eliza sent you? Really, that girl just can't give it a rest?" he hung his head back and rolled his eyes. What was he talking about?

"What? No um..I—"

"Look, you tell her to just get over herself and these stupid little tests. I've told her repeatedly I'm not cheating on her. Can she just get that into her head?"

I was starting to get really tired of being used as a messenger pigeon between these guys.

"No, that's not why…I don't even know who…," I tried to explain, but still couldn't manage to get many words out.

"And I kind almost understand her logic. I mean she sends someone that looks like you to my door, with that body, those tits. It would tempt even a saint," Rhys shrugged, gesturing towards me.

I'm not sure was it from my discomfort or my impatience at his interruptions but I found myself shoving the package into his stomach.

"This is for you. Edward told me to deliver it here. That's all," I said bluntly, and turned to leave again.

"Hey, woah, woah, wait up," Rhys called out after me. I sighed and turned back around to face him.

"Cullen sent…you?" he asked, clearly bewildered. I just shrugged in response.

"Well, sorry about that, I didn't think…anyways, before you go I have to make sure it's all here. I've never been one to put my faith in postmen," he joked, nudging me with his elbow.

I just stared blankly back at him which made his grin fade.

"Why don't you come in?" he suggested, opening his door wide.

"Oh, I don't think—"

"Any friend of Cullen's is a friend of mine. And I really can't let you leave without checking this first. You know…admin," he winked.

I must have been insane, but I was finding myself less and less scared of this guy. If anything he seemed almost…goofy? Maybe it really was just his appearance that was terrifying.

I glanced to my watch. It was already 6.55. I mean, the movie didn't actually start until 7.30, so what harm would being a few minutes late do?

I followed Rhys into his place and closed the door behind me.

His apartment was pretty average, what I would have expected given the overall building. I was quite taken aback by how long it was. Everywhere was spotless.

"You can grab a seat there, I'll just deal with this," Rhys said, waving the package. "Can I get you anything to drink?"

"Oh no, I'm fine thanks," I replied, sitting down on the couch. Going into a stranger's apartment was one thing, but accepting a drink from him was just a whole new level of stupid.

Rhys went into the next room over and I could hear him unwrapping the package, the very thing I had restrained myself so hard from doing.

"So…do you study medicine with Edward?" I asked, looking around at the scarce pictures on the walls. There was one of him and Edward that seemed pretty recent, and another of him and some pretty girl, I guessed she must be Eliza. Other than that it was filled with random posters.

"Me? God no!" he exclaimed from the other room. "Cullen's the one with the brains, I'm not even in college."

He walked back out without the parcel. "All good there. Sorry I had to check, it's nothing personal just protocol," he explained.

I nodded timidly and stood up to leave.

"Can I ask, how did someone like you become involved in all of this anyways?" Rhys mused, cocking an eyebrow up.

"Eh…I guess I would just call it being in the wrong place at the wrong time," I sighed, half laughing. He chuckled and nodded understandingly.

My curiosity was creeping in and who knew when I would ever have another chance like this.

"So, what exactly do you do in this…company?" I asked, attempting to give the impression of nonchalance.

Rhys just smirked at me and sniggered. "Love, I know I said Edward has the brains, but I wasn't born yesterday. It's pretty obvious you haven't been told what this…company…is."

I sighed internally. Guess I wasn't getting any information from him.

"Seems kind of shady," I remarked. Rhys just shrugged and looked around his apartment.

"It pays the bills. You know I keep nagging Cullen to move out of that glorified frat house and go halfsies on a place with me, but he insists on staying there for some god awful reason. Just imagine the crib we could get if we pooled in together. Then again, I guess he could easily manage it by himself," he laughed.

"Edward's…well off?" I asked, hesitantly.

"Well off?" Rhys snorted, "Try loaded! How could he not be when his dad is the most renowned neurosurgeon in the state?"

"Edward's dad is a surgeon?" I asked again. It suddenly occurred to me how little I really knew about the guy I had declared as my enemy.

"Do you know him at all?" Rhys laughed, not realising how accurate he was.

"He's a pretty mysterious guy," I shrugged, "you've known him long?"

And with that Rhys launched into his and Edward's backstory. They were neighbours growing up but came from two completely different worlds. Edward's father's career meant that the Cullens lived in the lap of luxury, while meanwhile Rhys lived with 5 siblings and his single mother in a 2 bedroom house. His dad had left when he was 9 and as the oldest he had felt the need to stand up and look out for his family.

The Cullens were like a second home to him and he and Edward were like brothers. When things went downhill with his mom who had begun self-medicated, he had even lived with Edward for a while. When he was 16 his mother's drug habit got the best of her and she overdosed, leaving her family devastated. His siblings went to live with his aunt but he decided to make the move directly to the city to find work. Two years later, Edward started college and they were back scheming together as if nothing had ever changed.

I was so amazed at his honesty. He had told me the most intimate details of his life and he barely knew me. The contrast between him and Edward was remarkable and I found myself wondering how they had remained friends after all that time.

"Those kind of loyalties, they stick for life, you know?" he stated, seemingly answering my thoughts.

I had been so entranced by Rhys's stories that I hadn't even noticed the time. It wasn't until my phone buzzed that I jumped up in panic.

"Are you okay?" Rhys screamed, jumping up too.

"Yeah, no! Oh crap! It's already 8pm, shit I have to go!" I exclaimed, flustered, heading towards the door. "Sorry, um thanks for all this."

"No problem. I'll tell Cullen you make a much better delivery person than the smelly fat dudes he usually sends," Rhys laughed.

I laughed in response and waved at him as I sped down the corridor. I had about 20 messages and missed calls from Jacob that I simply hadn't noticed until now.

My mind felt like it was overloading with all this new information. I couldn't think about that right now. All I could focus on was making it to the cinema as quickly as possible.


	12. Bombshell

As I raced down the block I couldn't stop my thoughts from whirling all over the place. How did I let this happen? Jacob was going to kill me.

I didn't even really know where I was going. There was no way he had waited this long for me.

Just as I had suspected, there was no sign of him outside the movie theatre. I sighed in desperation and made my way into the lobby. Nothing.

I wondered whether he had just gone into the movie anyways, but figured that it was pointless trying to find him in the darkened screen.

Hanging my head back, I admitted defeat, and slowly began making my way back to campus.

I knew I should be agonising over the guilt of letting Jacob down, but I couldn't claw my train of thought away from Edward and Rhys. The stories he had told me were so moving. So moving in fact, that I was having difficulty placing a jerk like Edward in any of them.

I was walking towards my dorm entrance when I spotted a familiar back of the head strolling to the boys' dorm.

"Jacob!" I called out, running over to him.

He swivelled around and sighed upon noticing me, shuffling awkwardly in place.

"I am so sorry," I panted, out of breath after having running. "You see what happened was—"

"Listen Bella," he interrupted, "I need to make this clear. I don't know what you know about me but I'm not generally the type of guy that gets stood up. I waited for 20 minutes like a fool for you and you couldn't even bother to send one text?"

"I know, I'm so—" I began, but was cut off again.

"I'm not playing any games here. I like you, I do. But I think you need to decide what it is you want. When you know, let me know. If I'm still available then we'll take it from there," he frowned, and turned around to walk into the dorm.

I stood slightly speechless on the spot, before miserably going in the other direction.

Well that was that then. An average girl like me had the chance to date one of the hottest, most popular guys in the whole college, so naturally I blew it.

I knew if I headed home now that I would just spend the evening wallowing in self pity. I decided to call Angela and see if she wanted to hang out.

Weirdly, the call seemed to stop after two rings. I tried again and one more time, but the same thing happened. I shrugged and decided I'd just go over to her room anyways.

I knocked briskly on the door, only to be met with a scowling Jessica.

"What do you want?" she spat at me. What was her problem?

"Hello to you to. I was just wondering whether you guys wanted to hang out. I tried calling but—"

"Yeah, didn't get the hint there, no?" Jessica frowned.

I raised my eyebrows in confusion. What was going on? I glanced behind Jessica to see Angela sobbing in the middle of the room.

"Angela what's wrong?" I asked, bursting past Jessica.

"Hey, you can't just invade here like that!" Jessica yelled.

"Jess, give it a rest," Angela murmured in a quiet voice.

"No, she shouldn't be here upsetting you. She's already done enough," Jessica glared at me.

"What are you talking about?" I asked in exasperation.

"It's nothing, it's just…" Angela trailed off.

"The hell it's nothing. You've some nerve just waltzing in here and taking everything that's not yours!" Jessica spat.

I looked aimlessly between the two of them, desperate for some sort of explanation. Jessica just continued to shoot daggers at me while Angela let out muffled sobs, avoiding eye contact.

"Look, I really have no idea what is going on here. I just came over because I've had a shitty evening. Jacob and I were supposed to–-"

"Oh yeah, you have Jacob too. Any other guy you've sunk your claws into recently?" Jessica exclaimed.

"What guys?" I shouted, getting more and more annoyed by this charade.

"Hmm I don't know…uh…Eric?" Jessica mused sarcastically.

"Jessica, what on earth are you on about?" I almost laughed, past the point of confusion now.

"Jess, just hush. It's not her fault," Angela piped up.

"What's not? Angela?" I looked at her beggingly.

She sighed and put down her tissue.

"Well, earlier this evening I decided to take your advice. You know, about taking control and asking Eric out myself? I prepared this whole sappy speech about how I've been feeling for the last while, and finally had the guts to actually tell him. I just thought maybe you were right, maybe he was just shy and didn't know how to make the first move," she recounted woefully.

"And?" I asked, expectantly.

"Turns out he wasn't shy, he wasn't waiting for me to ask. He's just flat out not interested," she mumbled.

"Angela, I'm so sorry," I told her. I felt guilty having encouraged her to ask him. Was this why there were so mad at me?

"Oh but do go on Ang. Tell our dear Bella why he's not interested," Jessica groaned. Her voice was really starting to grate on me.

"He…well…he…um told me that the reason he couldn't go out with me is because he's in love with someone else. That he has been for a while and hasn't found a way to tell them," Angela sobbed.

Oh God. This wasn't going where I thought it was going.

"Should have known really. All those coffee dates you two go on. Him inviting you to all our parties. Is that why you made Angela ask him out? Knowing he'd say no? Wanting to humiliate her?" Jessica frowned at me.

I couldn't muster up any words. There was no way this was genuine. Eric couldn't be in love with me…could he? He never said anything or gave off that vibe. I mean…he's never flirty around me.

I was so consumed by thoughts that I barely noticed Jessica edging me out the door. It wasn't until it slammed in my face that reality came crashing down.


	13. Explanation

I immediately found myself banging on Eric's door. I had to get to the bottom of this. There was no way I was letting something like this ruin everything.

I prayed that Edward wasn't in. I was so not in the mood to deal with him right now.

Thankfully, the door creaked open and Eric's timid face appeared. His expression fell as soon as he saw me and I knew he had been preparing for this visit.

He didn't say anything, just held the door open allowing me to come in.

"What the hell Eric?" I asked quietly, walking into the middle of his room.

He shook his head and sat at the edge of the bed.

"Bella I'm so sorry," he sighed, dropping his head into his hands.

"You're…I mean you're…in love with me? How did that…but when did you…why did you never…I just don't understand," I stuttered, not able to make sense of any of it.

He just kept avoiding me, rubbing his forehead in frustration.

"I think I'm public enemy number one to the girls now," I frowned, confused as to why they were so angry at me. I didn't do anything wrong.

"Oh god, this is such a mess," Eric exclaimed, shaking.

I was surprised to see him in such a state. It was like he was…panicking?

"Eric…talk to me. Let me know what's going on," I urged him, sitting beside him on the bed.

He shot up as soon as I sat down and began pacing the room.

"I screwed up Bella. I should have just said…but I couldn't…it was too…too soon…and then I was just stupid, first thing that popped into my head, I'm sorry I dragged you into this, why couldn't I just…oh god why did this happen, why did she have to admit, she couldn't just not…ughh," he began to freak out, not finishing any line of reasoning.

"Eric, you have to slow down. What do you mean 'too soon'? What should you have said? What are you talking about?" I asked, thrown back into my state of confusion.

He seemed to be deep in thought and was obviously contemplating whether to tell me what he was thinking. He bit his nails nervously and continued to paced up and down.

"The truth is Bella, I'm not in love with you. No offence or anything, I think you're great. But I only said that as an excuse. I couldn't think of a reason to say no to Angela and that was just the first thing I thought of, I'm sorry," Eric admitted.

I breathed a sigh of relief. Normalcy was restored. Eric wasn't in love with me and everything made sense again. Kind of.

"So what, you're just not into Angela like that? You could have just told her," I commented.

"I didn't want to hurt her. She's so sweet and innocent, I didn't know how to…" he trailed off, shaking his head.

"It's better for her in the long run. That way, she can just move on and maybe meet someone she really likes who likes her back," I insisted.

"I know you're right. I'm sorry, I'll talk to her tomorrow and straighten things out," Eric nodded.

I was glad we had reached an agreement. There was no need for this incident to break up our friend group.

"Well I'm glad I came over and we got all of that straightened out. I knew this evening couldn't get any worse," I joked, heading over to the door.

I turned around to say goodbye, noticing that Eric still seemed to be agonising over something.

"Eric, it's okay. Angela will understand," I reassured him. He just shook his head.

"It's not that," he replied, with a frightened look on his face.

"Oh…well then what is it?" I asked, walking back over to the bed.

"Bella, I…I need to tell you something. But I've never told this to anyone, or even said it out loud," Eric whispered, on the verge of tears.

He was beginning to scare me. What could he have possibly done? Was there a dismembered body in the wardrobe?

"Eric you can tell me anything," I assured him, my heartbeat racing.

He sighed and took a deep breath. "Well you see, the reason that I didn't want to say yes to Angela was because…is because I'm…well you see…I'm…I don't…I'm…gay."

I didn't respond for a second, mostly out of shock. Shocked at how much of a build up that got.

"That's…it?" I asked, still suspicious that he had in fact murdered someone.

He nodded, still looking terrified.

"Eric, that's nothing to be worried about. Hell, half the college is gay. Nobody cares about that anymore," I insisted. I knew plenty of homosexuals and never batted an eyelid.

"You don't know my family," he grimaced. "I've never said it out loud, it's just been easier to pretend otherwise."

"So have you…I mean, you say you've never admitted it but have you…been with..guys?" I asked, not entirely sure how to phrase the question.

"Well that's the thing. I wasn't lying when I said I was in love with someone else. It just isn't you," Eric let out a small chuckle. I was glad he was beginning to ease up.

"Who is he?" I asked in excitement.

"No I can't. He's in the same boat as I am…was," he explained, "just not ready to be public about it."

"Honestly Eric I'm so glad you told me. And don't worry about the others or about anyone for that matter. As long as you're happy they'll understand," I told him.

He smiled wryly at me. "Thanks Bella. And sorry about making this huge mess."

"Don't worry about it. Tomorrow we'll talk to the others and get this whole thing resolved," I laughed.

A frown spread across Eric's face.

"No, we can't. Listen Bella I know you're cool with this and I know the others will be too, but I'm just not ready for that. I need to take some time to get to grips with this myself, I can't handle other people poking their noses in it too. Please tell me you understand," he pleaded.

"Well that's fine I guess, but you need to tell them that I'm not involved here. I don't want to start World War III."

"I'll talk to them. I'll tell them I just made that up, I'll think of something," he promised.


End file.
